Status of ginger rhizome rot complex disease in major growing tracts of Karnataka

Abstract

Ginger is an economically important cash crop grown for its aromatic underground rhizomes. Crop is highly succulent in nature and its rhizomes are highly susceptible to different abiotic and biotic stresses. Rhizome rot or soft rot is the most destructive diseases of ginger worldwide. To know the status of rhizome rot complex disease and pathogens associated with disease complex during two cropping season 2016 and 2017. The maximum mean rhizome rot incidence was observed in Uttara Kannada district (33.20%) and least (18.84%) was in Mysore during 2016. Whereas in 2017, maximum rhizome rot disease incidence (44.66%) was noticed in Sagara taluk of Shivamogga district and least (22.67%) was recorded in Piriyapatna taluk of Mysore district. Among the different cultivated varieties maximum mean rhizome rot incidence was observed in Reo-de-Janeiro (28.33%), whereas the least incidence recorded in Himachal (22.46%). The incidence of disease was more in low land black soil as compared well drained red loamy soils. In both the year, frequency of occurrence of Pythium was more as compared to other pathogens but the severity of the rotting was more when bacterium (R. solanacearum) is associated.